With four days of swimming competition to go at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, Canada has earned five of its 12 total medals in the pool.
On Tuesday in Tokyo, it has a chance to add to that total, with nine swimmers, including two who have won a bronze medal, competing in various qualifiers.
Alexander ‘Alec’ Elliot
The 25-year-old Kitchener, Ont. native will be competing in the men’s 100-metre butterfly S10. He is coming off a bronze in the same event at the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships in London.
At his first Paralympic Games in Rio in 2016, Elliot competed in six events, his best being a fourth-place finish in the 100-metre butterfly.
The 2014 Ontario Male Para-athlete of the Year will also be competing in the 400-metre freestyle S10.
Zach Zona
In his first Paralympics, Zona will be competing in the men’s 400-metre freestyle S8. The Waterford, Ont. native reached the finals in the same event at the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships, finishing seventh.
Zona, 22, won three bronze medals, including in the 400-metre freestyle, at the 2015 Parapan Am Games in Toronto. Additionally, he was a member of the 4×100-m 34 pt. freestyle relay team that won a silver medal and set a Canadian record.
Nicholas Bennett
Canada’s youngest athlete at the Paralympics will be competing in the men’s 200-metre individual medley SM14, his fourth event of the Games.
Bennett currently holds Canadian records in the 100-metre butterfly, 100-metre breaststroke, 200-metre freestyle and the 200-metre individual medley.
The 17-year-old Parksville, B.C. native beat his own record in the 200-metre freestyle S14 last Friday at the Paralympics, finishing under one second off the podium. He also finished fifth in the finals of the 100-metre breaststroke S14.
Angela Marina
Marina races in the women’s 200-metre individual medley SM14. This will be her fifth event of the Games.
In her first trip to the Paralympics, the 22-year-old finished sixth in the finals of the 200-metre freestyle S14. She also missed setting a personal best in the 100-metre breaststroke S14 by 16-hundredths of a second.
The Cambridge, Ont. native won two gold and a silver at the 2019 Parapan American Games in Lima, her first competition at a major games.
Tammy Cunnington
The 45-year-old will be competing in the women’s 50-metre breaststroke SB3 Tuesday, her second of three events at the Paralympics.
Cunnington finished fifth in her heat in the 150-metre medley SB3 on Friday and looks to rebound Tuesday. She set five personal bests in 2019 heading into when The Games were originally set to begin.
This is the second Paralympic games for the Red Deer, Alta. native, who stormed onto the scene with three medals at the 2015 Parapan American Games in Toronto.
Sabrina Duchesne
Duchesne will compete in the women’s 100-metre freestyle S7 after winning her first career Paralympic medal, a bronze in the 4×100 freestyle relay 34 pt.
The 20-year-old has had a fantastic showing at her second Paralympic games after competing in five events in Rio 2016. On Sunday the St-Augustin, Que. native beat her own Canadian record in the 400-metre freestyle S7, lowering the time to 5:20.59.
Camille Bérubé
Bérubé will join Duchesne in the 100-metre freestyle S7 qualifiers. She has been busy so far at The Games, coming off a fifth-place finish in the 100-metre backstroke S7 final, an eighth-place finish in the 100-metre breaststroke SB6 final, and a fifth in the 200-metre individual medley SM7 final.
The 26-year-old veteran is making her third appearance at the Paralympics, after racing in five events in London 2012 and the 100m breaststroke in Rio 2016.
The Gatineau, Que. native will also compete in the 50-metre butterfly S7 before The Games conclude.
Shelby Newkirk
The 25-year-old will be the third Canadian competing in the 100-metre freestyle S7. Newkirk set a Canadian record in the 50-metre freestyle S6 earlier at the Games with a time of 35.50.
The Saskatoon, Sask. native broke world records in 2017 and 2018 in the 50-metre backstroke and 100-metre backstroke. She was named Swimming Canada’s Female Para swimmer of the Year both seasons.
Newkirk qualified for Tokyo, her first Paralympic Games, after a silver medal in the 100-metre backstroke S7 at the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships. She will also compete in the 100-metre backstroke S6 before The Games finish.
Katarina Roxon
The veteran will swim in the 100-metre freestyle S9, the third of four events Roxon is competing in. Along with Duchesne, she won a bronze medal in the 4×100 freestyle relay.
The 28-year-old finished fourth in the 100-metre breaststroke SB8, an event she won gold in at the 2016 Games. This is the fourth consecutive Paralympic Games for Roxon.
The Kippens, N.L., native will close out her competition with the 200-metre medley SM9 on Wednesday.
All swimming events can be watched online, and all schedules are available at Paralympic.ca.